


Ducks

by CiaranthePage



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 16:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8292802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiaranthePage/pseuds/CiaranthePage
Summary: From a prompt:"milkymilko said:peridot finding a rubber duck and trying to figure out it's purpose? (for the drabble requests)"





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is. old. like from july 2015 old. so the content is a little outdated. enjoy anyways!

Peridot was treading through the streets, looking for the lair of the Crystal Gems. She hadn’t made any progress on Earth so far, after checking on the Cluster. Jasper was nowhere to be found. Her ship had exploded sometime after she left -- she’d almost seen the explosion, but it might’ve been something else -- and she needed to get back.

 

But she figured she may as well scout out some info on this strange group of gems (especially that  _Steven_  -- he didn’t seem affected by the destabilizer at all). Maybe it’d get her some points to make up for her absence when she finally got back to Homeworld. If she ever did.

 

Her footsteps were halted quickly when she stepped in a puddle -- and on something soft, which let out a loud  _squeak!_  and surprised her.

 

“Uuuaagghh!” Peridot jumped back, ready to run from the unseen enemy.

 

Nothing jumped out at her. The streets were mostly empty. No one seemed to question her, out of the maybe three humans who looked over. Looking down to where she’d been walking, Peridot found a small yellow object.

 

She picked it up, twisting it around. Yellow, barely taller than her fingers, made of a squishy substance. It felt hollow, very light and full of air. It resembled a cartoonish version of the creatures she’d seen flying around in the sky wherever she went, with a painted mouth and exaggerated eyes. It had some dirt on it and seemed to be wet on the bottom.

 

“What manner of Earth technology is this?” she mumbled. “Some sort of weapon? A distraction?”

 

Peridot squeezed it again, and it let out the out  _squeak!_  again. She nearly dropped it but managed to hold on when she realized that she could control the noise by how much pressure she put on it. Pulling up a touchscreen, Peridot began to log the data on the strange object, muttering to herself as she went. “Unidentified Earth Object number twenty-three. Small and mostly yellow, hollow and made of a forgiving material that does not appear to cut easily, will conduct test later. Resembles flying Earth fauna with exaggerated features. Makes a loud noise when pressure is applied to its body. May be used as a sort of weapon or distraction.”

 

She closed the log, then studied the object for a few more moments. Maybe she’d been wrong -- it couldn’t have been a weapon, it was much too soft and flimsy. Or not, humans were strange and backward creatures (not to mention Peridot was  _rarely_  wrong). A distraction seemed to be the most logical conclusion, but she figured she’d take it with her, and see what effect it had on the local fauna. Perhaps it was some sort of signaling device, which would be very useful.

 

“Ducky?” a tiny voice called as Peridot turned to leave.

 

A small human had exited the dwelling she stood in front of. It looked around, and Peridot sneered, beginning to walk off.

 

“Green lady!” the human said. “You found my ducky! Can I have it back?”

 

The tiny being toddled up to Peridot, reaching out its hand and baring its teeth in a grin. Peridot looked to the object in her hand. “This thing?”

 

“Yes, my ducky!”

 

“What is this for?”

 

“For water time silly!” it laughed. “But that’s my ducky; I have another one that I can give you if you give me mine!”

 

Peridot hesitantly floated her fingers over to the small human, depositing the ‘ducky’ in its hands. “Wait here Green lady! I’ll get you your own ducky."

 

The tiny human dashed back inside the house, then emerged a moment later with a similar object, different only in the apparent newness and a scarf painted around its neck. “Here you go! It’s new, but I like my old ducky more. I hope you like it!” the human put the small object in Peridot’s ‘hand’, then darted back inside.

 

 _Humans are strange creatures_ , Peridot thought as she walked off, duck in hand.  _That little thing doesn’t even know what I am._


End file.
